AHMEDABAD: Gujarat is grappling with a shortage of top bureaucrats, with 56 IAS and 9 IPS posts lying vacant, the state government said during the budget session.
Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education Rushikesh Patel and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi revealed that as of December 31, 2024, the state has only 257 IAS officers against an approved strength of 313, with 14 on central deputation.
The IPS cadre faces a similar crunch, with 198 officers in place against 208 sanctioned posts, while 24 IPS officers are currently serving at the centre.
Patel informed the assembly that IAS cadre strength is determined by the central government in consultation with the state, as per the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954.
The structure undergoes a review every five years, with the last one conducted in 2018 setting Gujarat’s IAS cadre at 313 posts. These include 170 senior duty posts, 68 for central deputation, 42 for state deputation, 28 for leave reserve, and 5 for training reserve.
The Gujarat government proposed increasing the IAS cadre strength to 343 in 2024, aiming to address the ongoing shortfall. However, with only 8 to 9 IAS officers recruited annually through direct recruitment, the gap persists. Over the last five years, Gujarat has added 41 IAS officers this way, but the backlog remains.
Rushikesh Patel attributed part of the issue to a policy decision by the then-Congress government, which halted direct IAS recruitment between 1992 and 1994 - a move he claimed still impacts the state’s bureaucracy today.
Currently, Gujarat has 218 IAS posts reserved for direct recruits, of which 190 are filled. Another 81 posts are allocated for promotions, while 57 posts are open for selection from non-civil state officers, with only 10 of these filled. This leaves 257 IAS officers in place out of the sanctioned 313, highlighting the persistent staffing crunch.
Gujarat has outpaced the national average in filling IAS posts, achieving 84.86% recruitment compared to the country's 83.39% average. The state has also performed better in promotions, filling 78.95% of posts against the national average of 74.86%.
By February 2025, Gujarat will promote 20 IAS officers from the State Civil Service (SCS) and 2 from non-SCS through selection, adding 22 new officers to the cadre. Additionally, 8 IAS officers will join through direct recruitment by October 2025, bringing the total new additions to 30.
Addressing a related query on IPS officers, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi stated that Gujarat has an approved strength of 208 IPS officers, of which 198 posts are filled, leaving a shortfall of 10. With one position recently occupied, the vacancy now stands at 9.
Under the Central Government's policy, up to 45 IPS officers from Gujarat can be on deputation to the Centre. Currently, 24 officers are serving in central roles, leaving room for further deputation.